Latest news with #EmeraldFennell
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
One of the most controversial films ever is free to stream on BBC iPlayer
The film quickly become one of the most talked about of the past decade, with viewers unable to decide if they loved it or hated it One of the most controversial films of the past decade, featuring an A-list cast, is about to become available to stream for free. Social media has transformed how audiences discover and engage with films. Once overlooked releases can now become viral hits overnight, thanks to the power of platforms like TikTok. The buzz around films used to come from trailers and critical reviews, now with social media, a well-timed edit or meme can launch a film back into the spotlight. For example, Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King had a slow start at the box office last year, but soared to a $722.6 million gross global after multiple TikTok memes gave it a second wind, Manchester Evening News reports. One film that demonstrates this better than any other is Emerald Fennell's Saltburn - and it's now coming to BBC iPlayer to stream for free this weekend. Released in November 2023, Saltburn follows the story of Barry Keoghan's character Oliver Quick, an awkward student at Oxford University who becomes obsessed with the much more popular and rich Felix Catton, portrayed by Jacob Elordi. Felix take's Oliver under his wing, initially feeling sorry for the seemingly shy lower class student. Eventually the pair hit it off, and Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his massive family estate, forgetting to tell him about his eccentric family whose way of life is far from normal, and completely intoxicating. Oliver quickly becomes obsessed with the world of wealth, eccentricity and hedonism, and things take a turn for the worse. The film shifts from a seemingly budding friendship, into a thriller full of twists and turns. There's a stacked cast including Oscar winning actress Rosemund Pike, Richard E Grant, known for his iconic turn in Withnail and I, Conversations With Friends' actress Alison Oliver, Gran Turismo's Archie Madekwe and Carey Mulligan. However, when the film premiered in cinemas it did not do as well as producers hoped. Saltburn grossed just $21.1 million in spite of its strong cast and gripping plot. After its release the film's critical consensus read: "Emerald Fennell's candy-coated and incisive Saltburn is a debauched jolt to the senses that will be invigorating for most." Saltburn's reputation then changed almost instantly when it was released on Amazon Prime Video, just weeks after it left cinemas. The film went on to become one of Prime's most-streamed films, receiving a 71 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also dominated social media for months, as viewers recreated scenes, provided theories and begged for a sequel. One review on Rotten Tomatoes reads: "Such an amazing performance from the entire cast, great cinematography and interesting storyline. This movie is entertaining and always makes me think." Another states: "Brilliantly artistic and woefully disturbing," as a third went on to say: "Interesting story with good character development. Keeps the viewers interested and curious throughout the film." A fourth fan claimed they'd think about this film forever, writing: "Still processing. Gonna think about it all the time. Very interesting movie and the cinematography is great."
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Owen Cooper stars in fresh teaser for Sam Fender's music video as Adolescence sensation, 15, makes his return to acting for first role since blockbuster Netflix drama
He wowed fans with a breakout performance playing a child killer in hit Netflix drama Adolescence. And now Owen Cooper, 15, is back in the limelight as he stars in rock star Sam Fender 's new music video in his first role since the wildly popular mini-series. In a sneak preview of the video for Sam's latest single Little Bit Closer posted to his Instagram on Tuesday, the teenage actor could be seen staring intensely into the distance as the song played over the clip. The star, sporting the same short brown haircut his character Jamie had in the show, wore a dark green blanket over a light grey t-shirt in the short video. Credits revealed the clip was directed by Adolescence director Philip Barantini and the post featured the caption: 'Little Bit Closer @owencoooper @barantini Thursday 5pm BST x' It comes after Owen appeared in another teaser music video for the single on Saturday. Geordie singer Sam shared a black and white image of Owen looking out upon a rural landscape with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He captioned the post, 'I get a little bit closer,' in reference to the name of his single. Owen has been going from strength to strength in his career ever since securing his debut role as Jamie in Stephen Graham's creation, which saw each episode filmed in one shot. He has since landed himself a role as young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights adaptation, and is also set to feature in White Lotus star Amy Lou Wood's upcoming series Film Club. The breakout star was just 13 when he landed the role of Jamie, a schoolboy accused of brutally murdering a female classmate. In an interview with The New York Times, Owen admitted his return to normality at school was 'a bit mad' after his newfound fame. Chatting to the publication alongside co-star Stephen, who plays his dad Eddie in the show, the young actor revealed he had lots of attention from younger children as he returned to class last week. He then said his return to school was better with only 'a bit of bother', which caused Stephen to chime in with: 'What kind of bother?' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sam Fender (@sam_fender) Owen then reassured that it wasn't anything serious - just children coming up to him, shouting his name and then running away. His on-screen father Stephen smiled as he responded: 'Ah, just some silly b*******.' Adolescence hit Netflix's Top 10 Global chart, gaining a jaw-dropping 96.7million views in its first three weeks. The four-part series also landed a spot on Netflix's all-time Most Popular English TV list and made British TV history, becoming the first streaming show ever to become the most-watched programme of the week. While the show is already being tipped for a string of BAFTA nominations, figures published by ratings body BARB on Sunday showed that the first episode was watched by 6.45 million people in its first week. Top Boy legend Ashley Walters also featured in the role of DI Luke Bascombe and Erin Doherty plays psychiatrist Briony Ariston. Within days of its release, to almost universal acclaim, prime minister Keir Starmer announced the hit Netflix drama will be made available for free at secondary schools across Britain. Director Philip posted a celebratory Instagram story saying, 'We did it', as the show sparked conversation on how to protect young boys from misogny on social media. Mr Starmer, who admitted he 'found it really hard' to watch the programme with his teenage children, said he supported the decision to make the 'groundbreaking' series available at schools. 'As a father, watching this show with my teenage son and daughter, I can tell you - it hit home hard,' he said in a statement after the meeting with co-writer Jack Thorne. 'As I see from my own children, openly talking about changes in how they communicate, the content they're seeing, and exploring the conversations they're having with their peers is vital.' Showing the series will 'help students better understand the impact of misogyny, dangers of online radicalization and the importance of healthy relationships,' his office added. The drama explores how online influencers, such as self-described misogynist Andrew Tate, can impact children's views and lead them to violence.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wuthering Heights' Casting Director Shares 4-Word Response To Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi Backlash
Saltburn director Emerald Fennell is working on a brand new adaptation of Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the lead roles. However, the casting of the upcoming film has already faced criticism, with some claiming the character of Heathcliff – who is described as having alternately Romany and Indian heritage, and who is written as 'dark-skinned' in the original gothic novel – has been 'whitewashed' with the Euphoria star's casting. Others reckon Margot is unconvincing as the book's teenage heroine, Catherine Earnshaw. look at this 17 year old teenager in 1783 — naz ᓚᘏᗢ (@enchantednaz) March 23, 2025 Speaking at the Sands film festival in Scotland, the movie's casting director, Kharmel Cochrane, had a strong response to both critiques. Per Deadline, the casting director said there is 'no need' to be completely true to the original text, claiming: 'It's just a book'. Kharmel shared: 'There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot. 'But just wait till you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not. But you really don't need to be accurate. It's just a book. That is not based on real life. It's all art.' The casting director added: 'There's definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy. Wait until you see the set design, because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it'. Some fans have responded poorly to the comment, with one sharing on X: 'so they saw the whitewashing backlash and proceeded to ignore it.' so they saw the whitewashing backlash and proceeded to ignore it — ❤️🔥 (@nerdphobik) April 28, 2025 Another X user opined: 'STOP HIRING PEOPLE WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE SOURCE MATERIAL.' 'But you really don't need to be accurate. It's just a book' STOP HIRING PEOPLE WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE SOURCE MATERIAL — 𝓔𝓶 💫 (@emkenobi) April 28, 2025 Previous Heathcliff actors in major productions of Wuthering Heights have included Ralph Fiennes, Timothy Dalton, Sir Laurence Olivier and Tom Hardy, while mixed-race actor James Howson also took the lead in a 2011 adaptation. Much-loved movies like Bridget Jones' Diary and 10 Things I Hate About You have previously provided a far-from-loyal adaptation of Austen and Shakespeare's texts, respectively. Meanwhile, a Time film critic lauded Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet – which reimagined the story as being set in modern-day California – as 'one of the best Shakespeare adaptations'. Only time will tell if the new Wuthering Heights will receive the same acclaim... Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights Accused Of 'Whitewashing' Amid Jacob Elordi Casting Reports Who Cares About Pride And Prejudice's New Darcy? Austen Knew He Was Never The Real Romantic Lead Tom Hardy Recalls Pride & Prejudice Producer's Very Blunt Reaction To Him Playing Mr Darcy
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jacob Elordi Canceled an Acting Hiatus When Emerald Fennell Asked Him to Be in ‘Wuthering Heights'
Jacob Elordi was planning on taking a break from acting — that is until 'Saltburn' director Emerald Fennell asked him to play brooding hero Heathcliff in her upcoming adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights.' 'I was really lucky. I was going to take a break for a while, and then Emerald just very simply texted me, and you can't run from that text,' he told IndieWire in an interview published on Friday. Elordi also praised co-star Margot Robbie's performance in the literary production. 'She's incredible in the film, she's a live wire. I'm so, so excited for people to see it. She's a beautiful actor and she gave so, so much.' The Australian actor, who's current in production on the long awaited Season 3 of 'Euphoria,' previously worked with Fennell on 2023's 'Saltburn.' He recently wrapped on 'Guillermo del Toro's re-imagining of 'Frankenstein,' which will be out in November. 'I think I've seen every creature film ever made. Strangely enough, Guillermo gave me a baby book — a baby development book — at the start of filming,' said the actor. He'll play the title monster, who's put together from corpses assembled by Dr. Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac). Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth and Ralph Ineson co-star in the horror remake. His latest project, the Australian World War II series, 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North,' premiered on Prime Video on Friday. It's based on the novel by Richard Flanagan. Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' will be released theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 13, 2026. The post Jacob Elordi Canceled an Acting Hiatus When Emerald Fennell Asked Him to Be in 'Wuthering Heights' appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Barry Keoghan's role in new Beatles biopics wins support from Saltburn co-star
Barry Keoghan's casting in the new Beatles biopic has won the support of his Saltburn co-star, Richard E Grant. Mr Keoghan, who played an Oxford University student in the 2023 Emerald Fennell thriller, has been cast as drummer Sir Ringo Starr in the collection of four films about the band members. Mr Grant, who played James Catton in the 2023 Emerald Fennell thriller, has publicly shown his support for his co-star. Speaking on The One Show, Mr Grant praised the 32-year-old Irish actor and said he will be a 'fantastic Ringo Starr'. READ MORE: Traffic warning ahead of U's home match He said: 'He's an extraordinary actor. He's unlike anybody else I've ever, ever worked with before, so completely untrained, instinctive and brilliant. 'I think he'll be a fantastic Ringo Starr.' Directed by Sir Sam Mendes, each of the movies will showcase one of the members of the Fab Four: John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Sir Ringo. Keoghan is best known for his roles in The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and The Banshees Of Inisherin, the latter winning his the Bafta for best supporting actor in 2023. A scene from Saltburn showing his character – an Oxford University student who gets wrapped up in the charming and aristocratic world of his classmate – dancing naked around a country manor to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Murder On The Dancefloor went viral. READ MORE: Concerns about canal boats 'becoming like ovens' after trees axed The cast for the Beatles films also includes Normal People's Paul Mescal, who will play Sir Paul, while Lennon will be portrayed by Babygirl actor Harris Dickinson. Mescal's Gladiator II co-star Joseph Quinn has been cast as Harrison. The films are expected to be released in April 2028.
